Auburn Hills, MI – Jonas Jerebko had 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 113-93, on Friday.
Brandon Knight scored 19 points while Will Bynum recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists for the Pistons in their third straight victory. Andre Drummond also had 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
"We have eight quarters of basketball, we want to try to win as many as we could," said Pistons coach Lawrence Frank. "We've won three of the four tonight and let's just focus on continue to try to finish the season on a positive note. We've gotten good play from different guys and we've been playing good basketball these last six games and we just want to continue and follow through with it."
Kemba Walker had a game-high 28 points for the Bobcats, who have lost four straight and seven of their last eight games. Josh McRoberts had 17 points and seven rebounds and Gerald Henderson added 15 in defeat.
"It's never going to be an easy turnaround," said Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap. "Basically, it's an amalgamation for your young, using some veterans, and then you have five or six new players. So, as far as keeping our eyes on the ball, sure we'd like to win some more games, but I think there's been progress made and I think people can see that."
Knight drilled a shot from behind the arc with 1:45 remaining in the second quarter to not only take a 54-53 lead, but started an 8-0 spurt to finish the half. Jerebko drilled a 3-pointer with one second left and Detroit had a 59-53 lead at halftime.
The Pistons never looked back.
The Bobcats struggled in the third, shooting 27.3 percent from the field, including 1-of-8 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Pistons were in control, shooting 52.9 percent, as all five starters contributed on the floor.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Pistons had an 87-73 advantage.
With a commanding lead, Detroit gave its bench players ample playing time, particularly Bynum, who scored 11 points in the period.
The Bobcats' shooting percentage improved greatly, but still scored only 20 points in the frame.
Charlotte did not have a field goal in the final 2:54 of the game.
Game Notes
Greg Monroe had four steals for Detroit ... The Pistons outscored the Bobcats 58-28 in the paint ... Detroit wins the season series 3-1 ... The Pistons have won eight of their last nine games against the Bobcats ... Charlotte's 18-61 record is the worst in the NBA, two games worse than Orlando, with three games left on the schedule.
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